Syndergaard or deGrom; Who is the Ace of the Mets Staff?

There’s no doubt that the New York Mets have had an outstanding pitching staff in the past couple of years. It is a huge reason for their intriguing postseason run that led them to the World Series in 2015. The Mets rotation consists of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Bartolo Colon, and Logan Verrett. With Matt Harvey injured, along with the shaky start he got off to in the 2016 season, we begin to wonder who the ace of this Mets staff is.

With Harvey going 4-10 before the injury with a 4.86 ERA, you can cross him off the list immediately. Steven Matz is 8-7 on the year with a 3.35 ERA. This isn’t bad at all for the 25 year old southpaw, but guys like Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have been so consistent all year, including the 2015 season.

Jacob deGrom is 7-5 on the season in 19 games with a 2.41 ERA. In the previous season, deGrom went 14-8 in 30 games with a 2.54 ERA. deGrom was also an All-Star in 2015, and put on quite the performance in his one inning of work. deGrom struck out the side on just 10 pitches. He was simply un-hittable.

In the 2015 NLDS against the Dodgers, deGrom went 2-0 in 13 IP with a 1.38 ERA. He gave up just 2 ER and collected 20 strikouts in those 2 games pitched. In the NLCS against the Cubs, deGrom went 1-0 in 7 IP with a 2.57 ERA. He gave up 2 runs on just 4 hits and collected 7 strikeouts in that game.

deGrom has had some brilliant performances this season as well so far, further proving his undeniable consistency to pitch well and deep into games for his ball club. June 1st against the White Sox, deGrom pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 10. On June 25th against Atlanta, he pitched 8 shutout innings striking out 6 and only surrendering 1 walk. deGrom’s first start after the All-Star break was a complete game shutout against the Phillies, where he struck out 7 batters and only surrendered 1 hit all game.

Many people will argue that Noah Syndergaard is the ace of the Mets staff, and rightfully so. Syndergaard is 9-5 on the season in 21 games with a 2.48 ERA. Syndergaard, commonly referred to as “Thor”, was selected for the 2016 NL All-Star team, although he did not make an appearance. Last season was Syndergaard’s rookie year, where he went 9-7 in 24 games with a 3.24 ERA.

In the 2015 postseason, Thor started in 3 games, going 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA. Although Syndergaard wasn’t as important as deGrom in the 2015 season, he definitely proved to be a promising pitcher in the Mets organization.

Syndergaard has pitched some unreal games this year as well. On April 12th against Miami, Thor pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 12 batters. On May 22nd against the Brewers, Syndergaard pitched 7 innings without an earned run, while striking out 11. Thor struck out 11 batters as well on June 15th against the Pirates in 8 1/3 innings of work.

So, who is the ace of this Mets pitching staff? In reality it all comes down to opinion, but going by consistency and numbers, I have to believe that Jacob deGrom is the man for that role.